Aroid hardiness ....

[Fridrik Skulason]

A hello from Iceland...my first posting to this list.

Arisaema (and other Aroids) are virtually unknown in gardens in my
country - when the local gardening books mention them at all, it
is in the conservatory or house plant sections.

My own experience is not very extensive - one Arum idaeum and a few
Arisaema seedlings from seed sown last year (A. amurense surviving
the winter without problems, A. flavum on the other hand has not
re-appeared, and A. skikokianum seems to have succumbed to the frost)
- This spring I also sowed several Arisaemas from  C. Chadwell's last
seed-collecting expedition, but the seed has  not germinated yet.

My question is basically if anybody else has any experience growing
Arisaemas (and other Aroids) outdoors in similar climate as we have
here.. Norway, Newfoundland or Alaska, anyone ? (Well, Northern Scotland
and parts of Washington state will do in a pinch)... :-), or if you could
provide an educated guess on which species might tolerate the climate, which
can be summarised as cool, wet and windy (average winter temperature just
around freezing, with a typical minimum of -10C (14F for you Americans),
but wery unreliable snow cover, alternate freezing and thawing, and
sudden spring frosts until mid-May.

Not ideal conditions, I admit.

My guess is that several Arum species should be hardy here - A. elongatum,
and A. italicum for example, and as for the Arisaemas, the hardiest ones
are probably A. amurense, A. candissimum and A. triphyllum.

Any other suggestions or comments are welcome.